by amy zimmer / metro new york
SEPT 6, 2007

BROOKLYN. The Mary A. Whalen, a 69-year-old retired tanker, used to deliver diesel, gas and kerosene up and down the Atlantic coast. The tanker — docked at Red Hook's container port normally off-limits to the public — makes its grand debut this weekend as a cultural maritime center with the Brooklyn-based Vertical Player Repertory's version of “Il Tabarro.”

The repertory had done a land-locked version of the Puccini opera about adultery, murder and the rough lives of waterfront workers, but wanted to do it again on the water. When it discovered the tanker run by the nonprofit PortSide NewYork, the two groups dove into the production.

“It was our idea all along to use the tanker for performances,” said Carolina Salguero, director of PortSide NewYork. “The concept is to become a waterfront hub” to bring the marine industry together with its inland neighbors.

American Stevedoring Inc., the container port operator, took in the tanker last year because Salguero could find nowhere else for it. She repaired the ship this past winter.

“We had no budget,” Salguero said. “We operate on good vibes, volunteers and fumes.”

The opera company called Salguero before she started looking to stage something there.

It hasn't been easy.

First, there were Coast Guard regulations. Then, electrical problems put rehearsals in the dark. Other rehearsals had to be indoors due to rain. They had to contend with the working container port as well — though ASI workers lent wiring and welding skills and building a special container for musicians' instruments.

Judith Barnes, Vertical Player Repertory's executive director, enjoyed hearing stories from the stevedores, who will actually share the stage with the performers. The opera, originally set on a barge on Paris, is being transformed as Red Hook circa 1938 — the year the tanker was built.

“We really wanted to ground it — or perhaps I should say anchor it — with a connection to reality,” Barnes said. “The jury is still out on the acoustics. We're not using amplification and have no band shell, but water is a great amplifier. So is the concrete pier, and the boat is metal, which is good. We have to contend with ambient noise and the elements.”

Despite the challenges, Barnes wants to do it again with other waterfront works. “This is truly bringing art to life.”